This is my seventh year of participating in the 20 Books of Summer reading challenge. That is hard to believe.
The event is very flexible. You can go for 15 Books of Summer or 10 Books of Summer if 20 is more than you want to commit to. Books can be substituted along the way. And that is fine. The event is hosted by Cathy at 746 Books.
This event starts June 1st, 2022 and ends September 1st, 2022. Sometimes I read all twenty books, other years I have been less successful, but I never review them all. I have given up on that part of the goal.
To be honest, coming up with the list is the best part. Here is my list.
Mysteries
Steve Burrows: A Pitying of Doves
Catherine Aird: Some Die Eloquent
Stuart Kaminsky: Murder on the Trans-Siberian Express (Europe / Russia)
Sir Arthur Conan Doyle: The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes (short stories)
L. R. Wright: Fall From Grace
Raymond Chandler: The Long Goodbye
Louise Penny: The Long Way Home
Luke McCallin: The Man From Berlin (Europe / Sarajevo, Yugoslavia, 1943)
Robin Spano: Dead Politician Society
Ted Woods: Dead in the Water
Stef Penney: The Tenderness of Wolves
Science Fiction
John Scalzi: Head On
Connie Willis: Fire Watch (short stories)
Martha Wells: Rogue Protocol
General Fiction
Penelope Fitzgerald: The Bookshop
Gail Honeyman: Eleanor Oliphant Is Completely Fine
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo
Harry Mulisch: The Assault (Europe/ The Netherlands)
Adrienne Chinn: The English Wife
Leo Tolstoy: Anna Karenina
26 comments:
You've got some great books on that list, Tracy! I really like your choices. I want to read The Tenderness of Wolves, myself, and the Louise Penny series is so excellent; I'm sure you'll enjoy that one. You also reminded me that I want to catch up with some Stuart Kaminsky work, too. I hope you'll enjoy the books!
I am very tempted to try this. Almost all of the books I moved are books I hope to read.
Margot, I haven't read a Louise Penny book in a while, and Stef Penney will be a new author for me. And both set in Canada. I am looking forward to those.
Reading the book by Stuart Kaminsky is getting me closer to the end of the Porfiry Rostnikov series, only two more books after that one.
Patti, there's nothing like moving to help you weed out books. We haven't moved in a long time and I have many books I need to go through. I bet it is nice to have a smaller TBR pile. And you are better at giving up on books you don't care for than I am.
I've read The Bookshop and The Tenderness of Wolves, both good. I searched for The Long Goodbye by Louise Penny, wondering where that was in the series, and couldn't find it. Should it be The Long Way Home? Or perhaps it's another book renamed as they do sometimes. But anyway that one is my next Gamache book too, when I get to it.
That's a good and varied list you have there. I've spent a quiet hour compiling my list and tried to combine other challenges a few times, which will help me with those, particularly the classics one which I've hardly started.
Have fun! I intend to...
Cath, I put Raymond Chandler's The Long Goodbye and Louise Penny's The Long Way Home too close together. I think The Long Goodbye will be my first read in June, because we want to watch the film version again, but The Long Way Home will be soon after that, because it has been so long since I read a Gamache book. I read four books in that series in 2020 but now it has been over a year since I read one of those books.
Many very good books there, a fine list. I hope you derive much enjoyment from the reading thereof.
I hope so, too, Rick. Twenty books for summer may be biting off a bit much, especially since I am sure that I will take some detours to other books during that time too, but there are some very good ones here, and I am happy with the list.
Hi Tracy, Great list of books and thank you for letting us know about this summer reading challenge. 20 books between June 1 to Sept 1 would be hard for me but 10 or 15 books is doable if I buckle down. It sounds like alot of fun.
Ah, no Cadfael. At my current rate, I estimate it would take me about 18-20 months to read the books on your list.
Hi, Kathy, I always do have fun with the books on the 20 Books of Summer list. 10 or 15 is a good number too, I just had a hard time cutting back on the list.
Rick, leaving off one of the Cadfael books was an oversight. Well, I can always fit one in during the summer months; and/or read one before May ends.
Ha, yes, definitely making up the list is the best bit! Hope you enjoy your picks - I've only read the Holmes and The Tenderness of Wolves, and can recommend both as great reads. Have fun!
FictionFan, I am glad to hear more praise of The Tenderness of Wolves. I know very little about that book except that it is set in Canada and starts in 1867.
It is about time for me to read the first book of Sherlock Holmes stories. For someone who reads mainly mysteries, it is surprising that I have read so little of the Holmes stories and novels.
Yes, I did say MONTHS. At the moment a short story is taking a week...
Sorry, Rick, I focused on the Cadfael, and forgot to reply re the time it takes you to read now. That is so upsetting for you, and I hate to think of you having such problems reading. I hope I am not repeating myself, my powers of concentration are not as good as they use to be. Have you any hope for improvement to your problems with your back?
Not so far. Good luck with the eye appt.
Tracy,this is such a great idea...to
divide the summer reading in different genres.
I will follow your example when I compile my list.
CF: - have not read or heard of any of these authors...but not suprising b/c I am clueless in the CF book world
SF: I have read Willis and Wells...I find after reading one book of a writer's series...I'm done. SF has not been able to draw me in to more SF books.
GF: I've read all your choices with excepiton of Fitzgerald and Chinn.
I do hope you enjoy our book in NL The Assault. It is top-notch writing and gives
a great presective of WW II under German occupiers in The Netherlands.
Thanks for your comment on my blog about my latest CF read by Chris Hammer.
I keep trying to read some CF...just for you!
And LINCOLN IN THE BARDO is a fantasy novel. Saunders often writes sf and fantasy.
Good luck with the new prescription!
Nancy, dividing the list like that helped me make sure I picked enough books outside the mystery genre.
I think I stick with crime fiction as a reading preference because most of the time there is a clear storyline and resolution. I don't really care about the puzzle or mystery as much as the characters, but I do read a number of older mysteries that emphasize puzzle or plot over characters.
It is good to hear praise of The Assault, I look forward to reading it.
I admire that you read so much nonfiction, but I have to really work to make myself read nonfiction.
Todd, I agree that Lincoln in the Bardo is a fantasy, but many people classify it as historical fiction, so I figured, just go with fiction.
I do hope I get some improvement with a new prescription. My eyes have not changed a lot though. I will also get prescription glasses for use on the computer, and it would be nice if that helps, because I spend a lot of time on the computer.
Good idea to build your reading list in different categories - it means you have choices of genres to suit particular reading moods.
I've read the Louise Penny -she's always reliable. The Bookshop is a good read too
BookerTalk, I have found that I am venturing out to more general fiction lately and I would like to read more science fiction and fantasy than I do now, so my list was geared towards those goals. Unfortunately I keep running into books I wish I had put on the list, but I am going to try to stick to it for the time being.
The Bookshop is a book that both my husband and I want to read. I am looking forward to it.
Good luck, Tracy. There's a few I have on my own pile to read.... Penney, Spano and McCallin for definite maybe a couple of others. All unread of course. Time to get serious about reading some of what I already have.
Col, I got the McCallin and the book by Spano from Glen. Some of them he passes on unread, sometimes he gives me ones he has read already. He keeps expanding my TBR pile. Which is huge.
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